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Aeramar
Aeramar was a geographically and culturally Earth-like world with fantasy elements, set in an era reminiscent of the Early Middle Ages. The World The People Aeramar is filled with many cultures across the globe, yet these are the races featured or otherwise mentioned in the first module: *'Mithrim', People of the Mist - A pale, lithe, dark-haired rainforest people told of in legend amongst the elves. Now believed to be a dead race. *'Naurim', People of Fire - A rough folk of light earthen flesh and black hair, foes of the Mithrim and claimed original people of the world. Also presumed to be gone. *'Ortheri', The Masters - Beings of arcane might and unknown origin. Once rulers of a world-spanning empire, now believed tortured souls of some damnation in death. *'Varangians', Light Walkers - Fair people of the cold North, known for their friendship with dwarves and legendary defeat of the Dark Elves. *'Prydani', People of the Covenant - The fair, dark-haired inhabitants of the isle called Prydain, cradle of the Druid Order. *'Eireannach', The Burdened - Of the same ancestral stock as the Prydani, the Eireannach dwell on a green, cliff-walled isle beside Prydain and are a people who have suffered invasions of many natures yet always somehow emerged unscathed. *'Dorthagroth', The Delving Host - Dwelling in caverns deep below the surface world, hewing the remains of the Old World and facing terrors long forgotten, the dwarves delve into the earthen past. *'Odhel', Deep Elves - Also called Dark Elves, defeated ages ago in Varangia, now only rumoured as ghosts among the Prydani. *'Twaredhel', Wood Elves - Grim guardians of old forests across Prydain and the Young Kingdoms. Rarely seen but for the blood they spill. *'Vanasta', The Fair - Also called Light Elves, driven from Varangia during their defence of the Odhel, the Vanasta are now rumoured amongst the seas, their white ships seen when the mist is thick or the night dark. *'Aeoni', The Eternal - Also called the Sons of War, the Aeoni were rulers of the first known empire of Man, which spanned from the western border of Tangshan to the eastern of Prydain; an empire which is known now only by its ruins. *'Theud', High Men - A fierce tribal people which, together with the ancestors of the Prydani and Eireannach, defeated the Aeoni. The Story The full history of Aeramar is nearly complete but pre-play knowledge is desired by the creator to be kept intentionally scarce with the intention of keeping characters on a relatively level playing field in regards to knowledge of the lore unless appropriate for their character. A spoiler-free 'teaser history' is planned, but not yet available. However, at the time of the players' entrance into the module, the village of Crickhowell -- nestled at the foot of the Black Mountains of Prydain -- has recently torn itself apart with madness. Development History Aeramar's roots are in Advent, a setting which began development in 1999 by a small roleplaying group in Western Massachusetts, and which was later adapted into a Neverwinter Nights module of the same name. Advent entered its beta stages in July of 2003 with approximately one third of its world map playable, yet the project never saw completion or open access due to instabilities that emerged from the high density of custom content needed to make the setting a reality. Development officially ceased in December of 2004. In January of 2005, the former author, worldbuilder, and game master of Advent wrote a personally applicable essay on a fictional race called the Mithrim, 'People of the Mist'. Compelled and inspired by this, development began on the world of Aeramar, using its own set of rules quite separate from AD&D, but in early 2006 it was decided that an effort could be made to adapt it to AD&D 3.5 rules for the sake of realising the world in Neverwinter Nights 2 using the Aurora toolset. To date, the pre-toolset work on Aeramar is estimated to be approximately 80% complete. Category:Former gameworlds